Cover apparatus for pipes conducting distillation gases from coke ovens

ABSTRACT

Vertically-extending pipes used to conduct distillation gases from coke oven chambers are each provided at their upper ends with a disc-shaped cover plate. The cover plate is seated with a flange that surrounds an opening in the upper wall of the pipe. Three different forms of drive apparatus are disclosed for rotating the cover in situ to dislodge encrusted deposits on the cover and the flange. Scraper bars project from both the flange and the cover to facilitate dislodging these deposits.

United States Patent r191 Pries Jan. 14, 1975 [5 COVER APPARATUS FOR PIPES 3,546,077 12/1970 Tucker 202/256 Q U G ST O GASES 3,580,815 5/1971 Tucker 202/270 X 3,689,369 9/l972 Tucker 202/262 FROM COKE OVENS Inventor: Erich E. Pries, Bochum, Germany Assignee: Dr. C. Otto & Comp. G.m.b.H.,

Bochum, Germany Filed: Mar. 4, 1974 Appl. No.: 447,977

Foreign Application Priority Data Mar. 6, 1973 Germany 7308485 June 15, 1973 Germany 7322284 US. Cl. 202/254, 202/270 Int. Cl C10b 27/00 Field of Search 202/254260,

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Kinzler et al. H 202/256 X Primary Examiner-A. Louis Monacell Assistant ExaminerDavid Edwards Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Brown, Murray, Flick & Peckham [57] ABSTRACT Vertically-extending pipes used to conduct distillation gases from coke oven chambers are each provided at their upper ends with a disc-shaped cover plate. The cover plate is seated with a flange that surrounds an opening in the upper wall of the pipe. Three different forms of drive apparatus are disclosed for rotating the cover in situ to dislodge encrusted deposits on the cover and the flange. Scraper bars project from both the flange and the cover to facilitate dislodging these deposits.

11 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures PATENIH] JAN 1 M975 SHEET 10F 2 3.8602483 sum 2 or 2 PATENTEUJAN'I 41975 COVER: APPARATUS FOR PIPES CONDUCTING DISTILLATION GASES FROM COKE OVENS BACKCROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a cover apparatus to serve as a removable closure for an opening in the wall of a vertically-extending pipe used to conduct distillation gases from a coke oven chamber and, more particularly, to a pivotally-mounted apparatus for rotatably supporting a cover apparatus while seated with a seal flange surrounding the opening in the vertical pipe. In addition, the present invention provides that the cover apparatus includes a downwardly-projecting rim section with a diminishing taper whereby the cover is positionable into a seated relation with the seal flange by the pivotal support arm and the cover can be lifted from this seated relation to expose the opening in the wall of the vertically-extending pipe.

As is known, vertically-extending pipes, with a refractory lining, are placed onto vertical openings in the roof at one end of a battery of coke ovens in order to conduct the distillation gases into one or more gas collecting mains. The distillation gases pass through the pipes at a relatively high temperature. An elbow at the upper end of each pipe directs the gases in a lateral direction. The elbow is frequently provided with awater trap enclosure that is vigorously flushed with water and can be closed at the bottom of the elbow. An upper closure for each vertically-extending pipe is formed by a cover in the form of a circular disc which is constructed to bear against a seal flange. A pivoting device is provided for swinging open the circular disc for the purpose of cleaning the vertical pipe and the elbow connected thereto. Undesirable smoke discharges from these pipes, e.g., due to leaking distillation gas, if the cover is leaky due to the seal flange becoming dirty and due to tar deposits on the cover. It is, therefore, necessary for the cover of each vertical pipe and the seal flange surrounding the opening in the pipe to be cleaned from time-to-time.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION lt is an object of the present invention to provide an arrangement of parts for mechanized removal of deposits to clean a cover for an opening in the wall of a pipe conducting gases.

It is a further object of the present invention to facilitate the removal of tar deposits that are encrusted on the cover and surrounding surfaces of a pipe used to conduct distillation gases from a coke oven chamber without resorting to manual labor to perform an otherwise difficult cleaning operation.

In accordance with the present invention, there is provided the combination of a vertically-extending pipe to conduct distillation gases from a coke oven chamber and a cover apparatus to serve as a closure for an opening in the wall of the pipe, the apparatus comprising a cover having the form of a generally circularly-shaped disc for closing the opening in the wall of the pipe, the disc defining a projecting rim surface having a diminishing taper, a stub shaft extending from the back of the cover and generally coaxial with the central axis of the rim surface, pivotal means carrying the cover for rotation about the central axis of the rim section, a flange surrounding the opening in the wall of the rim section, a flange surrounding the opening in the wall of the pipe for contact with the projecting rim surface in the gas sealing relation, and means to transmit torque to the stub shaft for in situ rotation of the cover while in contact with the flange.

More specifically, according to the present invention, there is provided means for operatively engaging a stub shaft centrally disposed on the back of the cover for imparting rotary motion to the cover while disposed on a seating surface. The present invention further provides scrapers arranged in a fixed relation upon the seal flange at spaced-apart locations about its circumference to extend up to the rotating edge of the cover when it is rotated'on its seat to thereby remove deposits which may be present on the cover in order to increase the cleaning effect accompanying the rotation of the cover. The projecting edge forming the rim surface of the cover is provided with extensions projecting inwardly of the pipe and adapted to loosen deposits extending onto the cover during rotation thereof.

The stub shaft on the back of the cover may be constructed or otherwise provided in the form of a pinion having teeth to mesh with a rack gear that is reciprocated by a drive to produce rotary motion of the cover.

In another embodiment of the apparatus for imparting rotary motion to the cover, there is provided shaft means connected centrally to the cover and adapted to rotate about an axis which is generally coaxial with a rotary axis of the cover. A movable spindle above the cover is coaxially displaceable toward the cover. The spindle and shaft means are constructed in such a manner that by moving the spindle toward the shaft means from above and rotating the spindle, the spindle is caused to drivingly engage the shaft means and to impart rotation to it together with the cover while rigidly coupled to the shaft means.

A coupling member is preferably disposed on the end of the spindle which can be moved in the direction of the cover axis and reciprocated in an axial direction toward the cover so that the coupling and spindle can be selectively coupled with the shaft means on the cover. The spindle is coupled to a drive to slowly rotate it about its own axis. The spindle, together with its rotary drive, can be enclosed within a substantially coaxial sleeve with the end of the spindle projecting therefrom. By this construction, it is possible to support the sleeve by a carriage which is guided by rails for adjustment parallel to the rotational axis of the cover. The carriage supporting the sleeve is moved by a fluid-actuated drive. To insure reliable operation of the apparatus employed to slowly rotate the cover in situ upon its seating surface, it is essential that the support for the spindle be movable to approach the cover as accurately as possible in the direction of the rotational axis of the cover and that the spindle undergo rotation about its own axis. It is desirable that the apparatus employed to clean each of the individual covers for a plurality of verticaly pipes by constructed and arranged in such a manner that separate adjustments to the position of the apparatus will not be required for its use with each individual cover. In this way, the apparatus can be transversely mounted above the battery of coke oven chambers whereby the spindle is displaceable along the axis of each cover to rotate it when the position of the apparatus is opposite a given one of the gas conducting pipes. The guide rail for the carriage which supports the spindle and its drive must be adapted to the inclined position of the cover when seated with the gas conducting pipe. The guide rail may form part ofa track preferably having a horizontal bottom surface mounted on a charge car that moves along the roof of the coke oven chambers for loading coal therein. The parts are arranged to guide the spindle for coaxial alignment with the axis of rotation for the cover.

A series of embodiments are illustrated and described herein in regard to the spindle and shaft means employed to fulfill the function of rotating the cover according to the features of the present invention.

The shaft means, which is attached to the cover for rotating it, may take the form of a bevel gear having an upwardly diminishing taper to its diameter. The coupling member for rotating the bevel gear may take the form of a cone-shaped member having a hollowed-out internal surface from which fluted projections extend for drivingly engaging the teeth of the bevel gear.

In another embodiment of the present invention, coupling means between the spindle and the shaft means on the cover take the form of a plurality of arms projecting radially from the spindle and extend in a direction toward the cover. Drivingly engaging these arms is a plurality of fingers projecting radially from the shaft means centrally connected to the cover.

These features and advantages of the present invention as well as others will be more fully understood when the following description is read in light of the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is an elevational view illustrating the upper end of a pipe for conducting distillation gases from a coke oven chamber. Associated with the pipe is a pivotally displaceable cover adapted for in situ rotation to clear encrusted tar deposits therefrom according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an elevational view, in section, of the gas conducting pipe shown in FIG. 1 and illustrating in greater detail the embodiment of apparatus for rotating the cover;

FIG. 3 is a partial plan view of the apparatus shown FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 2 but illustrating a second embodiment of apparatus according to the present invention which is carried in a cantilever fashion by a charging car that is traversable along the roof of a coke oven;

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 4 but illustrating a third embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 6 is a partial plan view of the apparatus shown in FIG. 5.

In FIGS. 1, 2, 4 and 5 of the drawings, there is illustrated a pipe 10 which is arranged to extend in a vertical direction and has its lower end communicating with an opening in the roof overlying an oven chamber in a battery of coke ovens. Typically, a pipe 10 is associated with each oven chamber. Distillation gases rising in the oven chamber pass into the pipe 10 which is provided with a refractory lining 29. An elbow 27 is connected at one end by a flange 11 to pipe 10 and at its other end, the elbow is connected to a gas collecting main, not shown. A flange l2, welded to the pipe 10, surrounds an opening in an upper sloping wall of the pipe. The seal flange 13 is screw-mounted onto the flange 12. A cover 15 is provided with a projecting rim 28 which defines an inwardly diminishing tapered surface by which the cover 15 is seated in a sealed relation onto the flange 13. The cover 15 has the form of a generally circularly-shaped disc. A stub shaft 17 is centrally connected to the back of the cover 15 to extend therefrom in a coaxial relation with the central axis of the projecting rim 28 which is also coaxial with the circular shape of the cover.

In FIG. 1, the stub shaft 17 is surrounded by a sleeve 19. The sleeve 19 is secured to a lever arm which is, in turn, pivotally supported by a bracket 16 extending from the pipe 10. The bracket 16 pivotally supports a lever 31 that may be attached, if desired, to the arm 30. The parts shown in FIG. 1 illustrate the open position of the cover 15 and the closed position of the cover is illustrated by the broken lines. In the broken-line position, there is a repositioning of the lever 31, the lever arm 30 and the stub shaft 17 extending from the back surface of the cover 15 while seated on the flange 13. A pinion 18 is keyed to the stub shaft 17 in the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3. A washer 20 is disposed between the sleeve 19 and pinion 18. A rack gear 21 has gear teeth in meshing engagement with pinion 18. One end of the rack gear is connected to the rod 22 of a piston and cylinder assembly 23 that is supported by brackets 24 extending from the structure of a charging car 25.

Scrapers 14 extend from the circumferential face of the flange 13 so that they cover the rim 28 of the cover 15 during in situ rotation thereof. These scrapers project from the flange at spaced-apart locations from dislodging encrusted deposits projecting from the cover. Scrapers 26 extend from the rim 28 and form additional facilities for dislodging encrusted deposits upon in situ rotation of the cover. This has particular reference to such deposits that may extend from the internal surface of the pipe 10 onto the gas contacting face of the cover 15. Approximately two full rotations of the cover while seated with the flange 13 are sufficient for cleaning the encrusted deposits. This defines a suitable length for the rack gear 21 for displacement by the piston and cylinder assembly 23.

Turning, now, to FIGS. 4 and 5, it is pointed out that the pivoting support arm for carrying the cover 15 has been omitted in the interest of clarity. A bevel gear 36 is connected to the stub shaft 17 to project centrally from the cover-15. Coaxially spaced above the bevel gear is a coupling member 37 which takes the form of a hollowed cone having fluted surfaces projecting from the hollowed-out surface of the cone and forming teeth for drivingly engaging the gear teeth of bevel gear 36. The smallest diameter to the cone shape of coupling member 37 is secured to a spindle 38. The spindle 38 is rotatably supported by spaced-apart bearings 40 and 41 that are, in turn, carried by a sleeve 39. The spindle 38 is connected by a coupling to the low speed shaft of a gear reducer 34 having its input shaft connected to an electric motor 33. The speed reducer 34 is constructed to effect slow rotation of the spindle 38 about its longituidnal axis while supported by the bearings and 41. The sleeve 39 is supported by a carriage 44 having wheels 43 to move along guide rails 42. A sloping arm 45 supports a piston and cylinder assembly 46 having its rod end 47 connected to the carriage 44. Operation of the piston and cylinder assembly 47 displaces the carriage 44 along the guide rails and thereby moves the sleeve 39 and therefore the spindle 38 along the axis of the spindle and generally coaxial with the central axis of the cover 15. A cantilevered arm 48 extends horizontally from the charging car 48A that is traversable along the roof of the battery of coke ovens. The cantilevered arm 48 carries a support beam 49 that is connected at its upper end to the arm 45 so that it assumes a sloping relation with respect to the top of the cantilevered arm 48. The guide rail 42 extends in a direction normal to the arm 45 and downwardly for support by the cantilevered arm 48 of the charging car. This structural support is designed so that the spindle 38 with its coupling member 37 is angularly positioned to assume an operating position for all of the covers provided along the length of a battery of coke oven chambers. In this way, the charging car can be moved along the oven roof into alignment with the covers of each individual pipe conducting the distillation gases.

FIGS. 5 and 6 illustrate a third embodiment of the present invention wherein the coupling member at the end of the spindle 38 takes the form of a plurality of radially projecting arms 51 that extend outwardly from the spindle and in a direction toward the cover 15. The arms 51 are constructed and arranged to project into the spaces between a plurality of radially projecting fingers or gear teeth 50 that extend from a hub 50A that is, in turn, keyed or otherwise secured to the stub shaft 17.

The scrapers 14, extending from the face surface of the seal flange at spaced locations, have the important function of effectively cleaning the cover during in situ rotation of the cover.

The internal walls of the flanges l2 and 13 are cleaned by the dislodging of tar deposits by the scrapers 26 which extend from the lower surface of the rim 28 of the cover 15. As mentioned previously, two complete revolutions of the cover 15 in situ on the flanges are sufficient to clean encrusted tar deposits from the surfaces to avoid the undesirable discharge of smoke and other pollutant materials from the area about the cover due to deposits on cooperative sealing surfaces.

Although the invention has been shown in connection with a certain specific embodiment, it will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art that varioius changes in form and arrangement of parts may be made to suit requirements without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

I claim as my invention:

1. The combination of a vertically-extending pipe to conduct distillation gases from a coke oven chamber and a cover apparatus to serve as a closure for an opening in the wall of said pipe, said apparatus comprising:

a cover having the form of a generally circularlyshaped disc for closing the opening in the wall of said pipe, the disc defining a projecting rim surface having a diminishing taper,

shaft means extending from the back of said cover and generally coaxial with the central axis of said rim surface,

pivotal means carrying said cover for rotation about the central axis of said rim section,

a flange surrounding the opening in the wall of said pipe for contact with said projecting rim surface in a gas sealing relation,

means for transmitting torque to said stub shaft for in situ rotation of said cover while in contact with said flange, and

scraper means projecting from said flange at spaced apart locations for dislodging encrusted deposits projecting from said cover upon in situ rotation thereof.

2. The combination according to claim 1 wherein said apparatus further comprises scraper means forming an extension of said rim surface at spaced-apart locations for dislodging encrused deposits upon in situ rotation of said cover.

3. The combination according to claim 1 wherein said means for transmitting torque further includes a pinion connected to said shaft means in a torquetransmitting relation, a rack gear having teeth to mesh with said pinion, and drive means for reciprocating said rack gear to rotate said pinion and thereby rotate said cover.

4. The combination according to claim 1 wherein said means for transmitting torque further includes a spindle for rotating said cover, and coupling means secured to said spindle for drivingly engaging said shaft means to rotate said cover.

5. The combination according to claim 4 wherein said coupling means is secured to one end of said spindle and said drive means further comprising means for displacing said spindle relative to said cover in an essentially coaxial direction with said central axis of said rim section, and drive means coupled to said spindle for slow rotation thereof.

6. The combination according to claim 5 wherein said drive means further includes a, sleeve for enclosing said spindle in a manner that said spindle is supported in a coaxial relation to said sleeve and with said coupling means being spaced outwardly from said sleeve, a carriage for movably supporting said sleeve, and rails for guiding said sleeve during movement thereof relative to said cover.

7. The combination according to claim 6 further including fluid-actuated drive means for displacing said sleeve relative to said cover.

8. The combination according to claim 4 wherein said coupling means are further defined to include a cone-shaped member secured atits end with the smallest diameter to said spindle, teeth means extending from a hollowed interior face surface within said coneshaped member and a bevel gear attached to said shaft means for drivingly engaging the teeth means of said cone-shaped member.

9. The combination according to claim 4 wherein said coupling means are further defined to include a plurality of radially projecting arms extending from said spindle in a direction toward said cover, and a plurality of fingers projecting radially from said stub shaft for drivingly engaging said radially projecting arms.

10. The combination according to claim 6 further comprising car means movable along the roof defining said coke oven chamber, said car having a horizontal surface for supporting said carriage such that said sleeve supported thereby is positioned at an angularlydisplaced position with respect to said horizontal surface to thereby define a coaxial relation between said spindle and the central axis of said rim surface of said cover.

11. The combination according to claim 10 wherein said car means are further defined to include a charging car for loading coal into said coke oven chamber. 

1. The combination of a vertically-extending pipe to conduct distillation gases from a coke oven chamber and a cover apparatus to serve as a closure for an opening in the wall of said pipe, said apparatus comprising: a over having the form of a generally circularly-shaped disc for closing the opening in the wall of said pipe, the disc defining a projecting rim surface having a diminishing taper, shaft means extending from the back of said cover and generally coaxial with the central axis of said rim surface, pivotal means carrying said cover for rotation about the central axis of said rim section, a flange surrounding the opening in the wall of said pipe for contact with said projecting rim surface in a gas sealing relation, menas for transmitting torque to said stub shaft for in situ rotation of said cover while in contact with said flange, and scraper means projecting from said flange at spaced-apart locations for dislodging encrusted deposits projecting from said cover upon in situ rotation thereof.
 2. The combination according to claim 1 wherein said apparatus further comprises scraper means forming an extension of said rim surface at spaced-apart locations for dislodging encrused deposits upon in situ rotation of said cover.
 3. The combination according to claim 1 wherein said means for transmitting torque further includes a pinion connected to said shaft means in a torque-transmitting relation, a rack gear having teeth to mesh with said pinion, and drive means for reciprocating said rack gear to rotate said pinion and thereby rotate said cover.
 4. The combination according to claim 1 wherein said means for transmitting torque further includes a spindle for rotating said cover, and coupling means secured to said spindle for drivingly engaging said shaft means to rotate said cover.
 5. The combination according to claim 4 wherein said coupling means is secured to one end of said spindle and said drive means further comprising means for displacing said spindle relative to said cover in an essentially coaxial direction with said central axis of said rim section, and drive means coupled to said spindle for slow rotation thereof.
 6. The combination according to claim 5 wherein said drive means further includes a sleeve for enclosing said spindle in a manner that said spindle is supported in a coaxial relation to said sleeve and with said coupling means being spaced outwardly from said sleeve, a carriage for movably supporting said sleeve, and rails for guiding said sleeve during movement thereof relative to said cover.
 7. The combination according to claim 6 further including fluid-actuated drive means for displacing said sleeve relative to said cover.
 8. The combination according to claim 4 wherein said coupling means are furtHer defined to include a cone-shaped member secured at its end with the smallest diameter to said spindle, teeth means extending from a hollowed interior face surface within said cone-shaped member and a bevel gear attached to said shaft means for drivingly engaging the teeth means of said cone-shaped member.
 9. The combination according to claim 4 wherein said coupling means are further defined to include a plurality of radially projecting arms extending from said spindle in a direction toward said cover, and a plurality of fingers projecting radially from said stub shaft for drivingly engaging said radially projecting arms.
 10. The combination according to claim 6 further comprising car means movable along the roof defining said coke oven chamber, said car having a horizontal surface for supporting said carriage such that said sleeve supported thereby is positioned at an angularly-displaced position with respect to said horizontal surface to thereby define a coaxial relation between said spindle and the central axis of said rim surface of said cover.
 11. The combination according to claim 10 wherein said car means are further defined to include a charging car for loading coal into said coke oven chamber. 